Head-mounted lighting devices are typically used in dental, medical and/or surgical fields to allow practitioners (e.g., dentist, doctor) to have a light applied directly to the area where the practitioner is viewing. Head-mounted lighting devices are advantageous over overhead type lighting devices as the practitioner's shadow is not projected onto the work area. Operation of such devices using hand-free control is known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,851,709, RE46,463 9,791,138, and 10,240,769, which are assigned to the Assignee of the instant application, disclose hands-free operation of the control of head-mounted lighting devices.
Typically, a practitioner (e.g., a dentist, a doctor, a surgeon) adjusts the lighting element such that the light is projected onto a surface to which the practitioner's eyes are focused. The practitioner may then control the light output in a manner as disclosed in the aforementioned US patents.
However, in certain situations, control of the lighting unit is prohibited due to criteria imposed upon the practitioner. For example, a surgeon is not allowed to raise their hands near the lighting unit after having been sterilized.
Hence, users of head borne lighting have expressed a desire to activate their light when they are in a working position and deactivate their light when they are outside of that working position. This allows them to activate the light where they need it, without requiring them to move their hands from the sterile field.
Hence, there is a need in the industry for providing a means for controlling the light output based on biometric measurements of the practitioner.